


Sunny and Liam at La Foule Maléfique

by MagicCarpet



Category: SunnyxRain (Webcomic)
Genre: Demons, F/M, First Date, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:40:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28311027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicCarpet/pseuds/MagicCarpet
Summary: Sunny and Liam are finally going on a date, and Sunny has it all planned out.  But between cold winter weather, fiery sneezes, and a cute outfit-obscuring coat, can she manage to give the day a happy ending?Written as a gift to Shadowhood as part of the 2020 Webcomics Garden Secret Santa event.
Relationships: Sunny Dupont/Liam Cho





	Sunny and Liam at La Foule Maléfique

“I carved out two and a half hours from my schedule,” Liam announced when he met Sunny in their living room. He looked a little pained at the thought of so much lost study time.

If  _ he _ hadn’t asked  _ her _ on this date, Sunny would have wilted right there. But he wouldn’t have committed to something he didn’t want to do, right? She took a deep breath and unfurled her list.

“That’s perfect! I’ve got reservations for us at La Foule Maléfique, and then I thought…”

“The new French place in the square?” Liam interrupted. “How are you going to afford that?”

“I’ve been saving up,” Sunny said as breezily as she could manage.  _ Don’t make it a big deal, don’t make it a big deal… _ “And then, I thought, there’s that Witchvale prequel movie out, so we could go and see it if you want. That’s an hour and a half long, but it should be fine if there isn’t a line at La Foule Maléfique.”

Liam raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think that movie came out until this weekend.”

Sunny grinned.  _ This _ , she was proud of. “Most places aren’t playing it yet. But the manager of the theater on the square came into La Rochelle Café last week while I was at work, and when I put vanilla syrup instead of hazelnut in his drink, he absolutely flipped out. He started screaming that everything in his life was going wrong.”

Liam looked puzzled, but that was because she hadn’t gotten to the juicy bit of the story yet.

_ “Apparently  _ the company that runs the theatre got the date wrong on the Witchvale release posters. They booked enough tickets before anyone noticed the problem that they couldn’t just quietly change it, so they had to pay the film studio a lot of money to do a few early showings. The manager was stressed out of his mind trying to get everything ready in time.” Sunny beamed.

Liam seemed doubtful. “I don’t know, Sunny. Won’t the theater be packed?”

Sunny shrugged. “No, it shouldn’t be. I don’t think most of the Witchvale fans in this town have heard what happened.” She smiled, trying to reassure him. “And if it’s too crowded, we’ll leave and see the movie next week when it’s come out properly. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Liam. He checked the time on his phone. “I have two hours and twenty-five minutes left.”

“Then let’s go!” Sunny said. She almost took his hand, but chickened out. She’d work up to that. “We don’t want to be late for our reservation, do we?”

Out on the sidewalk, a light dusting of snow was falling. Sunny shivered even under her winter coat. Of  _ course  _ it would snow on a day when she needed to be as cute as possible. She’d spent hours deciding and re-deciding on the perfect date outfit, and Liam couldn’t even see it under her coat. He saw her every day, but this dress was supposed to say that Sunny could make a special effort for him without it being a big deal. On time, kind, attentive, and well put together. The coat just said, “I don’t want to turn to stone today.”

“I like your skirt,” Liam said abruptly, as if he’d tapped into her internal monologue.

“It’s a dress actually,” Sunny told him, trying to rein in her chattering teeth. 

He noticed them anyway. “We could stop in a store so you can warm up.”

Sunny could tell he had a lecture brewing for if she tried to say no, so she just nodded. “Okay.” So much for making their reservation on time.

In the next store they passed, a little candle shop, Liam suddenly produced a bouquet. “I got this for you,” he said.

Sunny’s heart pounded in her de-petrifying chest. She felt her half-numbed cheeks going red. “It’s beautiful,” she told him softly, sniffing. I love daffodils. How did you know?” Her nose was full of the warm, green scent of daffodils. And several other scents. 

Actually, the candle shop was kind of giving her a headache. But that was okay. They only had to stay until she was warm.

“You did a drabble last spring with a daffodil motif, and you wrote a whole paragraph in the author’s note about how much you like them,” said Liam, adjusting his scarf.

Sunny remembered that drabble, but was surprised he did. It had gotten less than two dozen likes, probably because it was about Lybil, an unpopular ship.

“Thank you,” she said. “That’s really—achoo!” Sunny sneezed, then sneezed again. The second time, a little jet of fire spurted from her mouth, scorching Liam’s dress shirt and lighting a row of candles on the shelf behind them. The flowers collapsed into a little pile of ash. The clerk behind the counter glared at them as Liam beat out the sparks on his chest. “Oh, no!” Sunny cried. “I’m so sorry.”

Liam shrugged. “I have other shirts. Are you warm enough to leave, though?” He eyed the glaring clerk.

“I think so,” said Sunny, who would have said the same thing even if she was still chilly. She hated being glared at. She sneezed again, this time minus the flames.

***

“Almost there!” Sunny called, running ahead of Liam. If they were less than thirty minutes late for their reservation, they wouldn’t lose it, though they’d probably have to wait a while. She groaned when she saw the packed lobby at the entrance to La Foule Maléfique. Liam was going to be miserable.

“It’s fine,” he said behind her. “Go and tell the host we’re here. I will take a moment outside to prepare myself.”

“Okay,” said Sunny, but she didn’t  _ want _ Liam to have to prepare himself for any part of their date. First she set him on fire and ruined the flowers, and now he hated the restaurant.

The man at the desk looked down at Sunny over the top of his glasses. “And what name is it under?”

“Dupont, party of two.” Sunny told him for the third time. She couldn’t really blame the guy. So many people were crammed into La Foule Maléfique that it was almost impossible to hold a conversation at a comfortable volume.

Sunny looked around. It was exactly the kind of food she knew Liam loved; she’d spent days binge watching his favorite cooking show to make sure of that while she planned the date. But she  _ couldn’t  _ make him sit here in the middle of a noisy crowd and pretend to have a good time.

“Actually, that’s okay. We’ll go somewhere else,” she said to the man at the desk. He didn’t look up.

As Sunny made for the door, she missed the man at the desk replying, “I can’t find your reservation, but you’re welcome to take a buzzer and wait in the lobby. It’s about forty-five minutes right now.”

Outside, the weather had taken an even chillier turn. Sunny patted her pockets, but she seemed to have dropped her gloves somewhere on the run from the candle shop. Her hands were already going numb.

Liam was still where she had left him, steeling himself for the crowd inside. He noticed her expression. “Are you okay?”

“No,” said Sunny, and she started to laugh. “Everything keeps going so wrong! And after you carved up your study schedule, too.”

“It has been a bit of a disaster so far,” Liam admitted. “But I’m sure the food will be amazing.” He eyed the crowd inside the restaurant reluctantly. “I am sorry that you had to come and fetch me.”

“I won’t make you sit in there and suffer,” Sunny told him. “That’s like the opposite of what dates are for. I cancelled the reservation. We can always come back on a less busy day.”

Liam looked oddly touched. “Thank you. But we can’t just stand outside until the movie starts. You’ll turn to stone.”

“You’re right,” said Sunny, beaming. “Look across the street.”

She pointed. The warm glow of the sign outside La Rochelle Café beckoned her.

“I know we’re  _ always _ there. But I think we both need the pick-me-up. Besides, with the money I’ll save using my employee discount to buy our lunch, I might actually be able to afford concessions at the theater!”

Liam smiled and took her hand. “That sounds lovely. Where are your gloves?”

“I’m not sure,” said Sunny, feeling herself blush again. “I think I dropped them.”

“Maybe my hand will help keep you warm, then,” said Liam. “Until we get inside.”


End file.
